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Which browser is reliable and fast. Which browser is the fastest?

Creating a new browser today is easier than ever - there is Chromium, which you can fork and add any functionality. Companies do this according to the same logic by which toolbars were once created - this is just an attempt to hammer their brand into the user and force him to use other company products. But when independent developers do it, the product's goal is to make its mark in a virtually static browser market. Don't get me wrong - I don't believe you'll switch to one of the indie browsers. But it's interesting to see what they offer, isn't it?

To switch or not?

When it seems like everything that can be said in some area has already been said, trying to do something differently is breathtaking: at first you think it’s wild and utopian, but as a result you begin to look at market leaders in a new way. For the same reason, in the December issue ][ we talked about such “strange” mobile OSs as Tizen, Firefox OS or Maemo. Therefore, in my opinion, when talking about alternative browsers, it is incorrect to pose the question bluntly: to switch or not. No, you definitely won't cross over. But you can try to repeat the functionality you are interested in in your favorite browser - for this, in each case, I tried to select the appropriate extensions.

The idea of ​​creating a browser that closely interacts with popular social networks has long been exciting the minds of developers. There were many attempts to create such a combine, but, perhaps, the Rockmelt company did a better job. No wonder they were able to receive serious financial investments.

The project of the same name was launched in 2009 and immediately enlisted the support of one of the founders of Netscape. A year later, the first beta version, built on Chromium sources, was released, and in a short time it managed to gather a decent number of fans. The main feature of Rockmelt is its unobtrusiveness. Integration with Facebook and Twitter was implemented as additional functionality, and not an intrusive addition.

Rockmelt may have had a bright future ahead of it, but in 2012 the developers shut down the desktop version and focused on creating an iOS app. Despite the drastic changes, the mobile application was born quickly and turned out to be quite interesting.

So, we are offered a solution that is interesting primarily because of its interface. Browser control centers around a single input line. It is both an address bar and a navigator for various content groups. For example, you can select a specific topic and immediately receive a pack of thumbnails of new posts corresponding to it. The presence of additional gestures allows you to perform a number of operations (sharing, liking) with one click or swipe.

Thus, together with the browser we get a content generator. At the same time, we have the opportunity to quite easily influence the conditions for issuing materials. You just need to go to any website and click on the “Follow” pimp. The resource is added to the watch list (RSS feed is taken into account), and new materials will appear in the personal news feed.

Extensions:

  • Content generator. Plugin for Google Chrome Feedly;
  • New materials by category. Plugin for Google Chrome: StumbleUpon;
  • Interaction with social networks (publications, sharing, etc.). Plugin for Google Chrome: Buffer.

SRWare Iron

Project audience: conspiracy theory lovers

The first releases of Google Chrome (as well as Chromium) caused a lot of noise. Users paid attention not only to the interesting interface and speed of operation, but also to a couple of clauses in the license agreement that deal a blow to privacy.

After this, a boom in articles on the topic “Big Brother is watching you” began, eventually forcing Google to reconsider its ambitions. Despite this, Chrome still contains several functions that somehow violate the user's personal space.

For example, everyone knows that immediately after installation, Google Chrome generates a unique identifier, which is transmitted to the company’s server. The "suggestions" function works in a similar way. All entered data is sent to Google for the purpose of producing search suggestions. The discussion about other nightmares is in roughly the same vein: the background update service, sending error reports, and so on.

SRWare is ready to solve all the problems raised. In fact, this is the same Google Chrome, but with the language cut off. It does not transmit any information to the Google server, but also brings several nice features:

  • offline installer;
  • built-in ad blocker;
  • ability to change User-Agent.

Verdict: The solution is primarily for conspiracy theorists. The browser has few additional functions, and all of them are implemented using appropriate extensions. As a result, it turns out that all the advantages come down to providing an additional level of privacy.

CoolNovo

Project audience: web developers, enthusiasts

Another project that grew out of a Chromium fork, CoolNovo compares favorably with similar alternatives. Firstly, developers from the Middle Kingdom are setting ambitious goals for themselves, and not just creating another clone with a couple of additional extensions. Secondly, they position their solution as a full replacement for Google Chrome. The idea of ​​such a solution managed to win the hearts of users, and the browser itself received a number of awards.

One of the most interesting and useful features is IE Tab. My main activity is partly related to the development of web applications, which means testing whether the layout is displayed correctly in browsers that use different rendering engines. IE Tab simplifies the testing process in Internet Explorer. It eliminates the need to run a separate copy of IE, and allows you to change the rendering engine used for rendering with one click.

Gesture controls also deserve special attention. At one time I got used to using similar functionality in Opera, and I must say that the implementation in CoolNovo is no worse.

The developers share the same views on the inviolability of personal space as the guys from the SRWare Iron project. All secret transfers of information to the company’s servers are cut to the ground.

Other most interesting features worth noting:

  • instant translation of pages into other languages ​​(using Google Translate);
  • taking screenshots of a page or selected area;
  • quick history clearing;
  • separate sidebar for placing frequently used widgets and extensions;
  • ad blocker.

Verdict: CoolNovo has long been a leader among alternative Chromium-based builds. Today it continues to hold its position and remains a good solution for users who want to get a beefed-up browser out of the box. The only sad thing is that CoolNovo has been updated less frequently lately. If this continues, sooner or later a competitor in the form of Chrome will throw it out of the race.

Extensions:

  • Fast and flexible cleaning of history, cookies and other network activity files. Plugin for Google Chrome Click&Clean Click&Clean ;
  • Link shortener. Plugin for Google Chrome URL Shortener;
  • Gesture control. Plugin for Google Chrome: CrxMouse or Gestures for Chrome;
  • Reading mode (without displaying pictures and unnecessary layout elements). Plugin for Google Chrome: iReader or Clearly;
  • Button for quick RSS subscription. Plugin for Google Chrome: RSS Subscription Extension;
  • Super drag. Plugin for Google Chrome: Super Drag;
  • Translator. Plugin for Google Chrome: Google Translate.

Maxthon

Project audience: All inclusive lovers

Maxthon is one of those projects that has experienced a rebirth. He first saw the light in the early 2000s under the pseudonym MyIE. Back then it was a convenient wrapper for Donkey IE and a number of useful functions. It had a built-in download manager, tabs instead of separate windows, and other useful features.

When Firefox and subsequently Google Chrome boomed, MyIE was forced into obscurity for a major overhaul. The total straightening brought it back with a new name, an updated set of functions and a completely different face.

Today Maxthon is more like a powerful Internet center than just a browser. Under the hood of the adventure game there are already two engines - WebKit and Trident (used in Internet Explorer). Moreover, unlike most similar solutions, Maxthon is able to independently determine pages for which the use of Trident is more preferable (as a rule, these are old sites). I specifically took one old project out of the closet, adapted for viewing in IE, and tried to view it in Maxthon. Without thinking twice, the browser immediately switched the display to retro mode and rendered the page using Trident. In addition to simultaneous work with two engines, Maxthon’s greatest strengths are its own cloud and the availability of versions for mobile platforms (Android, iOS). Your own cloud not only allows you to store various small information such as your browsing history, a list of open pages and similar things, but it is also quite suitable for storing files.

For example, I was very pleased with the ability to save files from a web page to the cloud with one click. This function looks most beneficial when working on a mobile phone/tablet. The usefulness of Maxthon does not end there, but rather just begins. Among them:

  • Gesture support;
  • SuperDrop function, which simplifies interaction with the browser interface in the absence of a mouse;
  • ad blocker;
  • a completely redesigned application interface (not another Chrome clone);
  • simultaneous processing of search results from several search servers;
  • viewing pages in reading mode (without unnecessary information);
  • saving videos from YouTube;
  • mute sound on any page;
  • simultaneous viewing of several tabs in one window;
  • download manager;
  • own extension store;
  • setting an arbitrary refresh time for open pages;
  • night surfing mode. When this mode is activated, Maxthon darkens the bright background of pages, thereby reducing eye strain;
  • increased productivity and much more.

Verdict: Maxthon will appeal to both casual users and hardcore geeks looking for new adventures. The presence of versions for mobile platforms and a full-fledged personal cloud are two key features that allow Maxthon to surpass many competitors. Add to this good performance, numerous victories in tests for compliance with web standards, and we get an almost ideal, but little-known browser.

Extensions:

  • Retro mode (page rendering using the IE engine). Plugin for Google Chrome: IE Tab ;
  • Taking screenshots. Plugin for Google Chrome: Webpage ScreenShot;
  • Night mode. Plugin for Google Chrome: Hacker Vision or Turn Off the Lights for comfortable viewing of videos;
  • Password storage. Plugin for Google Chrome: LastPass;
  • Ad blocker. Plugin for Google Chrome: AdBlock;
  • Built-in notepad with the ability to store notes in the cloud. Plugin for Google Chrome: Memo Notepad;
  • Resource sniffer. Plugin for Google Chrome: Web Developer.

Project audience: lovers of everything fresh

Chromium became the father of many webkit-based browsers. It forms the foundation of almost every new browser, and it is hardly possible to shake its dominant position.

So, you probably already know that it is on this project that all new products are tested before they get to Google Chrome. Support for new HTML5 features, corrections of terrible bugs, new interface features - all this is primarily received by Chromium users. Unfortunately, the frequency of updates comes at the price of stability. Major problems that prevent you from working normally with the browser are rare, but accurate.

It is quite difficult to single out some original interface features or capabilities, since they are largely the implementation of new HTML5 features and are relevant for web developers, not mere mortals.

Nevertheless, Chromium still has a number of differences that can interest the average user. For example:

  • no error reporting;
  • the RLZ identifier is not transferred to the company servers;
  • there is no Updater hanging in the background;
  • Only open and free media formats are supported;
  • productivity is very high.

Verdict: A special version of Google Chrome for enthusiasts and geeks. Everything new appears here, and these user groups will definitely like it. Chromium is unlikely to be suitable for mere mortals, since this is a product primarily for testing. And there are few users eager to be the first to test, say, the Battery API.

Avant Browser

Project audience: web developers

The primary goal of the Avant Browser developers is to provide users with an easy way to combine the work of engines within one application. It would seem that the task is not easy, but looking at Avant Browser, you are convinced of the opposite. The developers were not only able to bring together all the popular engines under one wrapper, but also came up with an easy way to switch between them. Changing the rendering engine is done in a couple of mouse clicks.

This is where the super useful functions end, and what remains are typical for such solutions:

  • a simple cloud storage capable of storing RSS subscriptions, favorites, passwords and other information;
  • ad/popup blocker;
  • creating screenshots of pages;
  • simple implementation of gesture control;
  • creating aliases for pages, with which you can quickly go to frequently visited sites;
  • built-in RSS reader;
  • mail client.

Verdict: Avant Browser cannot be considered as a full-fledged application for everyday use. This is more of a specialized solution that can serve web developers well, but not the average user. There are simply no other interesting features in Avant Browser.

As part of my job, I have to maintain several very advanced computers in working order. In terms of hardware, this is not difficult - fortunately, cars produced 10 years ago are often assembled (soldered) to a higher quality than modern consumer goods. But in terms of software, the task is more difficult. The biggest headache for me is antiviruses and browsers. Both of them are very hungry for RAM, which, alas, is in short supply (for the last 1.5 years, the budget for upgrading computers at school has been approaching zero, and a small upgrade can only be done if the old hardware completely fails). Meanwhile, it is highly advisable to update both the antivirus and the browser periodically. We'll talk about choosing an antivirus some other time, but today I'll try to find the fastest browser for old computers.

First, a little background. Until recently, I installed the old Opera 12 on all old computers. But, alas, one fine day, this once wonderful browser began to display crookedly a vital site - an electronic magazine. Well, I had to say goodbye to the old Opera and look for alternatives.

First of all, of course, I checked how the fresh Opera would behave on old machines. Alas, as expected, Opera 30 (this version was current at the time of my experiment) behaved like a typical Chromium browser: it consumed a lot of memory, forcing the computer to swap heavily (IDE disk, heh...). Things were a little better with other standard chrome clones (Yandex.Browser, Chrome itself). The latest Firefox 40 behaves relatively well, but it has obvious problems with interface rendering (it slows down) and memory consumption is still quite high (especially when opening 2-3 tabs). Well, since the browsers known to everyone cannot cope with the task, let’s try different exotic ones.

Part 1. Looking for a fast browser in the Chromium camp

I was pleasantly surprised in terms of speed. Being an add-on to Internet Explorer, it works very quickly and does not eat up too much memory. But, alas, all this happiness is available only on Windows 7, and my weakest machines run Windows XP. No, the mentioned SlimBrowser works great under Windows XP, but the IE8 engine, alas, is hopelessly outdated and is not much different in rendering quality from the same Opera 12-.

Next, I decided to try out “unusual” variations on the Chromium theme. There were as many as three candidates. The first of them is . It is positioned by the developers as a light and fast browser. In general, this statement is true - for a chromo clone, Midori is indeed quite light and fast. But, unfortunately, on computers with 1 gigabyte of RAM (and even more so with 512 megabytes) it is not light enough.
The second candidate is Chinese. The younger brother of the well-known Maxthon was born about a year ago. In essence, it is Chromium stripped to the limit. It really works quite quickly, but it still consumes a lot of memory. I would recommend it more as an addition to the main browser on normal machines (when you need to quickly read something without waiting for the main browser to load - Nitro loads almost instantly). But this browser is not suitable for older computers.

Finally, the last Chrome in my experiment is the OpenSource project. The developer positions it as the successor to the good old Opera, but on a modern engine (guess which one?). True, from a technical point of view, this browser is built a little differently - it does not create a separate process for each sneeze. This feature allows Otter (and this is how the name of the browser is translated from English) to save memory quite well. In terms of speed and functionality, Otter is also doing pretty well. But, alas, it is still very crude and not stable enough for everyday use. And the interface, to be honest, leaves much to be desired... Besides, Otter is essentially a one-man show (in the sense of a developer) and, alas, there is almost no hope for quickly bringing the project to a digestible state.

Otter Browser. In the depths of the tundra Otter in spats...

Part 2. Looking for a fast browser in the Gecko camp

Well, since the Chrome community can’t please us with anything in terms of speed, let’s try to turn to the second opposing side and look at browsers based on the Gecko engine. This engine is no less popular among developers, although it has its own specifics. While browsers based on Chromium (and Blink) are mainly built by various commercial companies (Otter is a rare exception), Gecko is more popular among the OpenSource community. Unfortunately, this community, for the most part, is busy changing the basic functionality of Firefox, as a result of which clones of Ognelis (or Firepanda - as you prefer) with different sets of functions are born. Against this background, several projects stand out that make optimized assemblies for certain platforms. Among them, only two focus their efforts on increasing the speed of Firefox. The first project is . Within its framework, they make assemblies that work (according to the developers) 25% faster than the original FF. Until recently, the PaleMoon project even had a separate assembly optimized for Windows XP, but due to the cessation of official support for this OS, its release was discontinued. However, to this day there is a separate build for weak Atom-based machines, which can be used on any old computers.
In terms of speed, I was very pleased with PaleMoon - the subjective speed of launching the browser and loading pages on a computer with 1 GB of RAM is even higher than when working with Opera 12 (although it uses a little more memory). The interface, by the way, is rendered noticeably faster than that of its ancestor in the face of FF (the cut Australis has an effect). True, for greater ease of use, the “lunar” browser will have to be modified a little (in particular, and turned on in the settings). In general, the impressions from this browser are the most pleasant. Among other things, PaleMoon supports extensions from FireFox, which means expanding its functionality will be quite simple.

Finally, the last contender for the title of “fastest browser for old computers” is the . This project, which appeared at the dawn of the popularity of Firefox, was in hibernation for many years and only recently began to be revived. In essence, this is a very distant relative of Firefox, taking only the Gecko engine from its ancestor. Due to its close relationship, K-Meleon does not support extensions from the original Firefox and does not inherit all its problems (working speed in particular). As a result, we have a very fast and quite functional browser. In terms of operating speed today, K-Meleon is the leader. The only thing that prevents us from definitely recommending it for use is the clumsy interface and the fact that it is overloaded with not all the necessary functions.

K-Meleon 74. The fastest browser…

As a conclusion. Based on the results of many days of testing (including on real users), I personally chose PaleMoon (more precisely, its assembly for Atom). In conditions of severe lack of RAM, it works noticeably faster than all other browsers. On computers with 512 megabytes of RAM, K-Meleon showed the best results in terms of memory consumption, but users in almost 100% of cases complain about its inconvenient interface (read: unusual appearance and non-standard arrangement of controls). In theory, all this can be solved by fine-tuning the interface (fortunately, K-Meleon provides such an opportunity), but in practice the difference in the speed of working with PaleMoon is not so great. The final decision, however, is yours.

Updated March 18, 2016
I tested a couple more programs that claim to be the “fastest browser for an old computer.” My impressions are in .

Updated February 19, 2019
It turns out that enthusiasts continue to make PaleMoon builds that work on older computers. Here, in particular, (you need to download the file mypal-28.3.1.win32.installer.exe).

For a long time, the most famous and widespread browser was Internet Explorer, due to the fact that it is the standard built-in browser of the Windows operating system. At the dawn of the Internet, there was simply no alternative to it, and it was never the best.

In 1995, the Opera browser appeared, which today occupies one of the leading positions on the market and is especially popular in the CIS countries. Opera has fairly high functionality, a clear interface, stable speed and a good level of security.

One of Opera's first competitors is Mozilla Firefox, in favor of which many users have recently spoken out. Mozilla, due to its innovation, speed and security, has great popularity, which does not stop growing; it is now the most widespread browser all over the world.

In 2008, Google burst into the browser market with its product called Google Chrome. The basis for the creation of this browser was the free Chromium project. Google Chrome has an extremely minimalistic look and the same functionality, but it is very fast and stable.

Safari is a browser from Apple adapted in 2007 for Windows, a free application originally developed for the Macintosh operating system. This browser is at the top of the list of the best and has a lot of fans who claim that Safari is the fastest, most beautiful and functional.

According to StatCounter in Russia, as of September 2013, the leading browser in popularity is Chrome (38.9%), followed by Firefox (20.3%), Internet Explorer (14.1%), Opera (13.7%) . Yandex.Browser (6.2%) closes the top five.

Chromium-based browsers

Actually, Chromium itself is a completely open project, from which Google Chrome, Yandex.Browser, CoolNovo, RockMelt, SRWare Iron and many other well-known and not so well-known browsers grew. Unlike its offspring, it does not have such functions as error reporting, sending statistics, PDF Adobe Flash modules are also missing.

Amigo Coowon Browser is a powerful gaming browser for hardcore gamers, as the creators of this application position it.

Comodo Dragon is a browser for “security maniacs”, from Comodo, a famous manufacturer of firewalls and antiviruses.

Nothing particularly remarkable browsers: PlayFree Browse, QIP Surf Browser, Internet, Odnoklassniki, Rambler Nichrom, Chrome from Yandex, Rambler Browser, Yandex. Browser, Orbitum, Amigo, RockMelt, are also developed based on Chromium.

Some browsers support, in addition to online mode, when the browser tries to retrieve pages from a web server, offline mode, which allows you to view saved copies of previously visited pages.

Firefox-based browsers

Mozilla CometBird is the brother of Mozilla Firefox, which consumes much less RAM.

Pale Moon – the main feature of this browser is its support for powerful processors, which makes it possible to achieve high performance and stability.

Mozilla Flock is a browser focused on social networks, equipped with a huge number of bookmarks for almost all existing social networks.

Mozilla SeaMonkey is a browser for users nostalgic for Netscape Navigator.

Comodo IceDragon is another browser from Comodo that is free and secure.

PirateBrowser is the first pirate browser from the famous torrent tracker The Pirate Bay, has a built-in TOR client for tunnel traffic, FoxyProxy for convenient work with proxy servers and settings for anonymous surfing.

Standalone browsers

Browzar is a browser for spies. Easy, fast, anonymous, all addresses and passwords have to be entered again every time.
K-Meleon is an innovative, fast and stable browser with a unique set of .

Maxthon is a cloud browser that includes a large set of latest generation cloud web browsers.
Tor Browser Bundle - a package that includes the Mozilla Firefox browser with a connection to a network of virtual tunnels, provides 100% privacy and very slow performance.

Acoo Browser is a browser for professionals, which has in its arsenal an analyzer of HTML page code with highlighted syntax.

Also, the most notable browsers that have their own “” that are worth paying attention to include: BlackHawk, Dooble, Internet Surfboard, Lunascape, QupZilla, Slepnir Browser, Torch Browser.

A browser is software required on every computer. You can select and download a browser for Windows 7, 8, 10 for free on our website.

We have collected the most popular latest Russian browser versions of 2018.

Why is it needed? Firstly, it is designed to work on the Internet (and this is necessary everywhere these days). With its help, web pages and all kinds of web documents open. Secondly, the browser also comes to the rescue in controlling the machine, making it possible to easily view computer files and their directories. Regarding the management of web applications - also to the browser.

Today there are truly a great variety of browsers for Windows. You can download the best browsers for Windows from our website. And they differ not only in the shortcut that you see on the desktop (although it’s a shame to complain here, the developers tried to make each individual and different from the others). All sorts of additional functions, built-in extensions that give the user new opportunities and make his life on the Internet easier. One gets the feeling that developers from different companies are simply competing with each other. And, perhaps, somewhere this is true. The competition among browsers is serious, so you have to wonder how to stand out so that users choose your product. You can download several browsers and try them out, leaving the one that is most convenient for you.

However, if you strip away all the extra bells and whistles, the browsers look very similar. Even though different engines were used to create them. This is due to the international standards that all developers follow. They do this not out of despair (no one twists their arms or forces them to work ONLY this way). However, uniform requirements make it possible to guarantee that all information will be displayed correctly in the browser, and the user will not want to stick the mixer in his eyes when he sees the open page.

Browsers are distributed free of charge, do not take up much space, and do not conflict with each other (unless everyone definitely wants to be the “Default Browser”). So it is not uncommon for several such programs to be installed on one computer at once, following the principle “everyone is good at something.” This option is also convenient when several users work on one machine at once - each has their own browser, and there are no problems with saving tabs, bookmarks and passwords.

So you can start downloading from our website right now as many browsers as you need, and those that you like. If it suddenly turns out that you were mistaken, and the “nice label” does not hide the browser of your dreams, you can always replace it with another one.